The Girl from the Unknown
by The Lady of Dragons
Summary: Eli has been taken prisoner by Dr. Blakk. His friends have turned Slugterra upside down and still they can't find him. A mysterious girl frees him and after that crazy things start happening. What ties does she have to the Shadow Clan? To Twist? What is her connection to the Shanes and the secrets they hold so dear? A destiny and a pair of ancient slugs.
1. Chapter 1 - Prison Break

The Girl from the Unknown by The Lady of dragons

Prolog: It has been several months since Eli was captured, several months since his friends failed to save him, several months since he was thrown into a secret prison built just for him that only Dr. Blakk knows about, several months since he was placed into a trance of fear, one that left him paralyzed and unable to summon the courage to even lift a finger. A hollow ring-like collar around his neck, filled with dark water keeps him that way; so afraid of everything that he can't even sleep. His slugs are held somewhere else in the prison, in a very similar situation. Blakk decided against using them as ghouls; if they manage to escape somehow, they could lead the rest of the Shane gang right to Eli. Blakk couldn't have that, now could he? That is all about to change very soon…

Now that the dramatic intro is out of the way, let me start at the beginning:

Chapter 1 – Prison Break

Part 1 – Capture

"We're almost to Lumino Cavern!" Eli shouted over his shoulder as the Shane Gang rode through a small grotto on their way to answer a distress call from the mining cavern.

"Just over the bridge around the next corner and we should be there," Trixie yelled back.

"Hey, guys, something's not right here," Kord called, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"What are you talking about? Everything is fine; there is no need to worry," Pronto declared.

"That's the problem," Kord replied.

Eli frowned, "Now that you mention it, it is a little odd that we haven't been attacked yet."

"Maybe they have all just run away in fear from the magnificent Pronto!" the molenoid proclaimed arrogantly.

"Somehow, I don't think that's what happened! Look!" Trixie pointed urgently up the trail. At least a dozen of Blakk's men stood atop a hill, all armed, and all aiming directly at the Shane Gang.

"Now things are starting get back on track!" Eli raced towards the men, whooping with excitement. This was what he lived for.

"Eli, wait up!" Trixie shouted after him. "What are you doing!?"

"Relax, Trix! I'm just having a bit of fun, that's all!"

"Pronto does not want to state the obvious, but shouldn't we be up there with him?" Pronto said to Kord and Trixie

"Yeah, we should, but shouldn't they have fired a shot by now?" Kord pointed out.

"You're right, Kord. This isn't right, it's not like them at all," Trixie shook her head.

Kord cupped his hands and yelled, "Eli! Get out of there now, bro! Something's not right about this!"

But Eli did not hear him. He was too busy firing his slugs at the men as they scattered. _Well that's odd_, he thought. _They should've at least shot something at me by now._ And then it happened:

Five men jumped out from the bushes, slinging Attacknet slugs—ghouled Arachnet slugs—at Eli. He was caught by surprised, and knocked off of Lucky, immobilized by the sticky webs even as his friends raced to help him. Another one of Blakk's men fired a slug at him; he couldn't see what kind it was. There was a sudden pain as it hit him and he started to lose consciousness. The last thing he saw was Dr. Blakk standing over him, laughing, and his friends running towards him. He heard them shout his name, and then he blacked out.

Part 2 – A Prisoner of Your Own Mind

When Eli came to, he found himself in a small, grey, square room. To his dismay, he was bound by shackles on his wrists and ankles, all connecting to a central chain, several inches thick, that was seamlessly welded to a metal ring in the floor.

He felt something strange around his neck, and when he looked down he saw the edge of some strange collar. There were no laser bars in the cell, no windows, no way to tell where he was. The room had one door; the only thing that betrayed it's presence was the outline of the frame set into the wall. But beyond that, there was nothing: no knob, or handle, not even a lock. No way to open it from the inside.

Suddenly a holographic video screen came on in front of Eli. "Hello, Eli," said the voice of Dr. Thaddius Blakk.

"You think that you can keep me here, Blakk?!" Eli cried, yanking at his chains in an attempt to stand up.

"Dear boy, I don't think; I know. There is no way for you to escape on your own, and there is no way anyone is coming to save you. I am the only person in all of Slugterra who knows where you are. I had this prison built especially to hold you. There are no human guards; only androids, and the entire structure is rigged to come down on top of you if you even set foot outside that door. I won't go into any further detail; you'll soon be far to incapacitated to worry about anything else," he chuckled evilly.

"What do you mean!? Tell me!" Eli shouted at the screen.

Blakk grinned, "That ring around your neck? It is filled with dark water."

Eli flinched, noticeably moving more warily, "What is this, Blakk? Are you planning to make me work for you?"

"No such thing, Eli Shane. You would be far more trouble than it is worth to make you serve me. That ring is going to keep you here, and that is all I am going to say on the matter. Oh, and have a nice nightmare."

With that, the hologram vanished and the sound of a blaster being loaded came from above Eli's head. He looked up and saw a Nightgeist being fired at him. He braced himself for the impact and when it hit him, the visions began. He waited for them to subside when the effect of the slug wore off, but they did not subside. They began getting worse, until it seemed like he was in a waking nightmare, not just the distorted reality that the slugs usually induced.

He swayed on his feet, dropping to the floor. Sounds became distorted and his vision faded out. Everything went dark as the nightmare took hold.

Weeks passed and he didn't even realize it, trapped in that state as he was. He remained thus for so long, that he eventually slipped into a coma. His body shut down and his mind dragged him through horror after horror for several months.

His friends searched for him everywhere, turning town after town upside down in their desperate hunt. They even went to Blakk's main base and blasted their way through it looking for Eli. They searched until they had nowhere left to look…

THE END

Just kidding! Let the story continue!

Part 3 – A Mysterious Liberator

Eli had been a prisoner for several months; all hope of finding him had been lost a long time ago. His friends still helped people where they could, but they stopped calling themselves the Shane gang. After all, what was a Shane gang without a Shane? Eli was still in his nightmare coma and Blakk had been surprisingly inactive; no doubt plotting the finer details of his conquest and some nefarious plan or other.

Deep underground, beneath the cavern floors of Slugterra, where Blakk had cleverly hidden Eli's prison, someone else snuck through the empty halls.

She had already taken down the androids guarding the place and disabled the trigger that would have caused the whole place to collapse should an alarm be set off—not that she had any intention of doing so—and was now passing through the empty hallways, trying to avoid springing any other traps or motion-detectors on her way to the control room.

"Alright, Rebound," she whispered to the Speedstinger slug in her hand. "I'm going to stick the jamming beacons on your head and all you have to do is touch the wall next to the cameras to get them to stick and put the video feed on a loop. Got it?" The little creature nodded enthusiastically and chirped quietly. "Good." The girl grabbed her blaster and took careful aim, sizing up the angles of her shot. She fired the slug and was able to get it to ricochet properly to each of the cameras.

Without skipping a beat, she dashed down the hall into the control room, scooping up the slug on her way in. She sat down in the chair and studied to control panel before her. A Tazerling slug hopped onto her shoulder and chirped excitedly: it loved technology.

"What do you say, Volt?" Can you get me what I need?" Volt nodded and began to hop around the keys and buttons. The large screen instantly flared to life showing all sorts of data, including the video feed from the other parts of the prison. "There!" the girl hissed as her slug found the cameras to Eli's cell. He was out cold on the ground. "Alright, can you get me the pass code to his cell door?" Her slug chirped happily and jumped around the keys some more. Seconds later, some digits and letters appeared on the screen. The girl punched them into the small device she was holding. "What about his slugs? They weren't in the room with him. Can you find them?" The Tazerling gave her a nod and found what she was looking for. "Perfect," she said as she punched in the pass code for them too. "One last thing; I need you to put the cameras in the rest of the prison on loop." Volt nodded and hopped around again until the cameras were down.

She made her way to Eli's cell carefully. There was no such thing as too careful when Blakk was involved. Once she was there, she plugged her little device into the electronic locking system that secured the door and entered the pass code. The door slid open smoothly and she stepped inside.

There he was: the hero of Slugterra, a prisoner of the cruelest mad man in the entire world. How sad it was to see someone so honorable in such a horrible place. She had heard of how he tried to help anyone who needed it, how he was kind to his slugs and was a great slinger.

When she had been younger, Blakk had come to her home cavern and attempted to destroy it so he could build something or other. Will Shane had protected them from Blakk; Eli's father had been a great man. She owed the Shanes more than she could ever repay, considering that her life hadn't been destroyed because of them. Helping Eli now was the least she could do. And besides, it was the right thing to do.

She bent down to him and tried to wake him up, but he would not move. "Eli, wake up," she whispered loudly. Still nothing. A slug crawled up onto her shoulder and tried to get her attention. "What is it, Medic?" she asked the little Healer slug. **_(AN: Yeah, I know, cheesy name. Just bear with me here, okay?)_** The slug pointed at the ring around Eli's neck and made some odd motions by repeatedly opening its arms wide. "You want me to take it off?" she asked. Medic chirped in the affirmative, and when she had, the healer began to jump trying to get her attention again. "You think you can wake him up?" When Medic nodded, the girl stood and loaded her blaster, then quickly fired.

Eli felt something, something different than the constant darkness that surrounded him. It seemed like the shadows were weaker than usual, and he could have sworn someone else was there. He tried to move, to answer the unspoken question, but he was not strong enough to even make a sound. Then he felt something like cool water spread through him. It pushed all the darkness back, letting the light in. His strength rapidly began to return and he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a girl his age, with long black hair and dark green eyes, standing over him and holding a half raised blaster. She was talking to someone he couldn't see.

"Did it work?" the girl asked the unknown person. Then Eli realized that she was talking to the slug in her hand. It looked like a Healer slug.

He tried to ask her where they were, who she was, and what was going on, but all that came out was a moan.

Her eyes immediately focused on his, "It worked." She bent down and put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Owww… Wha..?" he tried again to ask what was going on, but again he only managed a groan.

"Can you stand?"

He gave up trying to talk and just nodded weakly.

"Come on then, we need to get your slugs and get you all out of here," she said as she helped him up, supporting him when his legs wouldn't hold his weight.

The two made their way down the halls of the prison to the room where Eli's slugs and gear was. "Wait here," she told him, and entered the room. He sat down against the wall outside trying to get his mind to function properly. A few moments later the sound of a blaster being fired came from the room and she walked our carrying his bandolier, his blaster, and a case full of his groggy slugs. She helped him put on his bandolier and his slugs hopped inside it. He put his blaster on its belt clip and looked at his dark haired rescuer for what to do next.

"We need to get out of here. Follow me. I found your mecha in the upper levels and hid it outside with mine." She walked through the hallways and he followed her. They reached and elevator shortly, she punched in some sort of access code and the doors sprung open. They walked in and he felt it lurch upward as they moved upwards. When the doors opened he was confused for a moment because he saw more of the same hallways from before, then he remembered she had mentioned upper levels and figured that was where they were.

She led him through some more hallways and to a staircase that looked like the exit. He was about to sigh with relief and ask her what was going on, but she signaled him to remain silent. She walked slowly and carefully up the stairs, alert for any signs of danger or the enemy. When she was half way up she signaled for him to follow and the two of the walked to the exit.

She pushed the huge doors open just enough for them to pass through. They walked outside and Eli saw why no one had found him before now. If he hadn't come from the inside of the prison he would never have been able to tell it was even there; which then brought to mind the question of how she had known it was. The doors fit seamlessly into the stone around them and the stone looked deceptively thin, discarding the possibility that anything could be inside it. Since the rest of the prison was underground, there were no signs of any kind, and being that the guards were androids, they had no need to leave or reason to do so. It was the perfect trap—almost.

The dark haired girl led him a secluded spot a good distance away from the doors. She pulled back the natural curtain of leaves and vines—they were in a jungle cavern Eli did not recognize—and revealed both of their mechas. Lucky was there and Eli felt relieved to see something familiar that wasn't nightmare distorted. He looked at her mecha: it was a some sort of white feline, most likely a leopard or tiger. Some of the basic design was similar to Lucky's, but there were more differences than similarities between the two. "Come on we just have to ride a little ways until we get to the safe place I set up, then you can collapse," she said as she walked over to her mecha. Eli nodded, too exhausted to speak. She helped him onto Lucky and then mounted her own beast, and the two of them raced off along a trail, far away from the prison.

THE END (This time for real)


	2. Chapter 2 - Identity

The Girl from the Unknown by The Lady of Dragons

Chapter 2: Identity

Part 1: The Dark Haired Mystery

Eli slowly came to and he panicked for a moment when he couldn't remember where he was or how he got there. Then he was just confused. It was the middle of the night; the crackling of a fire alerted him to the presence of another person. Suddenly it all came back: Blakk capturing him, the Frightgiest slug and the waking nightmare state, the mysterious girl with green eyes who had saved him. He remembered how they had ridden for what felt like a long time until she had finally told him to stop. Too tired to argue, he had done as she asked and the two of them had set up camp for the night. She had told him to sleep, saying that she would keep watch so he needn't worry. He'd curled up with Burpy in the sleeping bag he always kept in Lucky's saddle bags and gone straight to sleep—his first peaceful night's sleep in a long time.

He sat up slowly and looked around him. Sure enough, the girl from before sat on the ground next to the fire. She appeared not to notice he was awake and continued to stare intently into the flames; her knees drawn close to her body with her arms wrapped around them. He took this opportunity to study her more closely. She had long black hair tied in a high ponytail, however, some of it hung down, obscuring the right side of her face completely. Unfortunately for him, her right side was the side facing him, so that was all he could see of her face. Her eyes stood out in his memories of the night before. Dark green, and pleasantly so; like the deepest part of a forest.

Next he focused on her clothes. Her slinger's jacket was dark midnight blue, accented on the shoulders and torso with black, and she wore is partly unzipped, revealing the simple white and grey shirt she wore underneath. The bandolier she wore was visible on her shoulder, but her position concealed the rest of it and whatever slugs she might have with her. A plain black belt with an unpolished silver buckle carried a holster clip—but no blaster. _Odd,_ Eli thought, _Where's her blaster? _He decided he'd worry about that if he had to and continued with his observations. Her boots were midnight blue and a deep earthy green with grey soles and her pants were a solid shade of black, which, along with the other elements of her garb, made her appear as if she could just melt into the shadows and disappear.

"It's rude to stare, you know," she said quietly, causing him to jump.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to."

"I guess you're feeling better?" she spoke without lifting her gaze from the fire.

"You could say that."

"How did you end up in there, anyway?"

"Blakk tricked me— Hey, wait! I'm the one who should be asking the questions here!"

"Alright, what do you wanna' know?" she asked, surprising him with her readiness to explain herself

"You name would be nice, for starters."

"My name is Lyaru."

_Hmm. I guess that's a nice name. Easy to remember at least. _

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Any more questions? Or are you just going to stare at me again?"

"Um, how did you find me? Why did you save me? And what's you connection to Blakk?"

"I found you because of my slug, Dracon. I saved you for a few reasons, the first of those being that it was the right thing to do, and my 'connection with Blakk' is that he nearly destroyed my home cavern when I was four, so I like to mess with him sometimes. Which reminds," she said, finally taking her eyes off the fire, "If you're feeling up to it, I can take you home."

"I am defiantly up to going home," he declared as Burpy climbed onto his shoulder and squeaked happily. Lyaru laughed at the little slug and one of hers climbed onto her shoulder. It looked like a Tazerling

She gestured to Burpy, "Who's your little friend?"

"Oh, this is Burpy. He's an Infernus slug" Eli held out the orange slug to Lyaru and Burpy surprised him by jumping onto Lyaru's other shoulder and chattering excitedly with the Tazerling. "Burpy, that's rude, come back here," Eli scolded. "Sorry about that; he usually doesn't jump on other people like that"

"Nah, it's fine. My slugs do it to me all the time," she said stroking Burpy's little head.

"Who's _your_ friend?" he asked, motioning to the Tazerling.

"This is Volt. He helped me get the pass codes for the cell doors. He loves technology, can get just about anything out of a computer."

"Well, thanks for getting me out of there," Eli said quietly.

"Not, necessary." She paused before asking, "Eli, do you know how long you were in there?"

"No. How long?" he asked bracing himself for the worst, for years to have gone by and all his friends to be dead.

"Relax," she told him, noticing how he tensed up as if expecting a blow, "It wasn't years, or even a year."

"How long then?" he felt slightly less afraid of the answer.

"Several months."

"MONTHS!?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I didn't get you out sooner, but it took me a while to find out where you were. Blakk is the only person who knows where that prison is Eli. It took me weeks just to learn what cavern it was in."

"No, thanks for getting me out at all," he said hastily. Then a sudden thought struck him, "Why didn't my friends come looking for me?"

"Blakk told them that he had killed you shortly after you got captured. They still searched everywhere though, even turned several caverns upside down because they didn't believe him at first. But eventually, when they couldn't find a trace of you, they had to give up. They're still in the business of helping people, but it's trickier for them without you around."

"Does everyone think I'm dead!?"

"No, they just think you're away somewhere on 'Shane business'. That's what your pals told everyone. They didn't want people panicking because they didn't have a Shane protecting them anymore."

He sighed, "That's a relief. Hey, if everyone thought I was gone, why were you still looking for me?"

"As I mentioned before, I don't get along well with Dr. Blakk, and because of that I keep close tabs on him. When I heard that he caught you, I wanted to know what he was planning to do. I did some hacking and accidentally found the message he sent to your friends about you being dead. I thought that was crazier than a Jellyish that shoots fire, so I did some more digging and found out that you were still alive."

"One more question: why didn't you tell my friends about that when you found out I wasn't dead?"

"I was going to, but I realized that they would probably get angry and go after Blakk for taking you, leading them to storm his citadel, which we both know, despite their impressive abilities, would almost certainly end in disaster. They were just about ready to go to war on him when they thought he'd killed you, so I decided it would be better if I just tried to find you by myself."

"Ah. Now it all makes sense. An all-out war with Blakk would be bad, and in the state we were in, in terms of supplies and support, I'd wager they'd have lost, and everything would have gone bad faster than anyone could react."

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I really want to get home."

"Then roll up your sleeping bag and follow me," she stood and began packing up her own thing, dousing the fire with a nearby bucket of water. The two of them headed off soon after that, on their way to get Eli back to the Hideout and his friends.

Part 2: A Painful Reunion

The two travelers made their way through the caverns of Slugterra in the pre-dawn light that illuminated the caves with a soft grey glow. Eli was soon exhausted, as the cavern they had set up camp in was very remote, and the cavern he'd been held prisoner in even more so. But he said nothing and just kept riding. Lyaru seemed sensed that he was tiring and they stopped for to rest for a while.

"We should be there soon," Eli said, taking a drink of water.

"Hm," Lyaru nodded. She didn't talk much when she wasn't answering questions, but then again, he realized that she must be tired too. After all, she'd stayed up all night keeping watch, and had ridden just as far as he had, not once, but twice.

He stood up, "We should probably get going."

She nodded again and stood also. They mounted their mechas and sped away. About an hour later they arrived at the Shane Gang Hideout.

"It feels _so good_ to be home!" Eli cried, getting off of Lucky. He made his way up to hideout, Lyaru following him as he opened the door. When he walked in, everything looked exactly as it had before, except one thing: where were his friends? There was no one in sight, not even a slug.

"Hello?" Eli called. "Is anyone home?" His answer was the sound of a blaster and a familiar looking Tormato slug shot towards him, transforming into a tornado and completely disorienting him."Wait! Hold your fire," he shouted, trying to regain his balance and failing.

"Is that—? No, it can't be," a familiar voice whispered from around a corner.

"Eli? Is that really you?!" Trixie exclaimed, coming out from her hiding spot behind some boxes on the stairs. She walked down to the ground floor, her eyes wide with disbelief, as Kord came out from around the corner, the same expression on his face.

"Yeah, guys it's really me," Eli said with a smile, which turned into a grimace of pain when Trixie and Kord hugged him so tight he swore he heard his spine crack.

"You're alright!" Trixie exclaimed as they let him go.

"Bro, where were you?! We looked everywhere and couldn't find a trace of you."

"To be honest, I'm not sure where I was; the only reason I'm back is because of her," he turned around to point at Lyaru, but she was nowhere to be found. "Hey, where'd she go?" _She was right behind me when I came in._

Kord gave him an odd look, "Uh, Eli, what are you talking about?"

"There was a girl with me. She freed me and brought me back here," Eli explained.

"Eli, you were the only one here. No one else was with you," Trixie said, looking concerned.

"She must have taken off once I came in," he ran outside to see if her mecha was still there. It was gone, but fresh tracks indicated that she had only left a few minutes ago. He found a note pinned to Lucky's saddle, it read:

_Eli, _

_Sorry I didn't stick around for the reunion. I figured you'd want some time to be with your friends and it was getting late; I have places to be—no offense intended. I can bet you've still got more questions and I know your friends probably will have plenty too. So, I'll come back tomorrow once you've rested, and you can 'interrogate' me then._

_-Lyaru_

"What did you find? Trixie queried. She and Kord had followed him outside.

"Here," he turned over the note to them.

"It sounds like we get to meet your mysterious rescuer tomorrow," Kord said. "She has got a good point though: it _is_ getting late, and you look like you haven't slept in months."

Eli was about to protest, but thought better of it when he realized that Kord was right. Aside from last night he hadn't slept, _really slept_, in months. Instead he asked, "Where's Pronto?" noticing the unusual silence and peacefulness.

"Hiding and waiting for us to deal with the 'intruder'. He heard the alarms and panicked, thinking that Blakk was coming for us," Trixie replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I think he's still under his pillow shaking," Kord laughed.

"Well, let's give him a little surprise. After that I can sleep."

After they found Pronto and scared the pants off him with Eli's sudden return, Eli told them as much as he remembered until he got to the part where he had come back to the Hideout. Pronto was thrilled that Eli was alive and insisted that he, Pronto, molenoid extraordinaire, had been leading the Shane gang to victory time and time again in their young leader's absence. Everyone rolled their eyes at this, and walked away. Soon after, they all went to sleep, and Eli was able to relax once again. He was finally home and his friends were alright. Things were looking up—at last.

Part 3: Answers at Last

The next morning he woke up to the sound of arguing and the click of computer keys. Trixie must be looking things up and Pronto and Kord were arguing about something, he decided before rolling out of bed. He changed out of his pajamas and got dressed, heading downstairs to see what all the fuss was about. He was half right: Trixie was at her computer, but she and Kord were the ones arguing while Pronto was nowhere to be seen.

"What if she's like Twist?" Kord said.

"She could be working for someone else entirely and why would Blakk try the same trick twice?" Trixie countered. "That's not his style.:

"Yeah, that may be true, but this is Blakk we're talking about: he's crazy."

Eli cut in as he walked over, "What are you guys talking about?"

Trixie let out a sigh and turned to face him, "We were just discussing your rescuer."

"What about her?"

Kord sighed, "We think that she might be like Twist or working for someone else."

"That is a valid point. I actually hadn't thought of that possibility," Eli said, acknowledging their concerns.

"That's it?" Trixie asked cautiously. "You're not gonna blow up on us for suggesting that your new friend's a spy?"

"No," Eli shook his head, "Because I think you may be right." At this the two just stared at him, mouths open in shock. "Yes, you may be right. It's set up the same way as when we met Twist and I have no reason to believe she isn't a spy or an infiltrator."

"There is one problem with that particular theory," Pronto said, walking in to the kitchen. "If your mysterious woman is a spy for Blakk or anyone else, then how did she know where the Hideout was? From what Eli told us, she was the one leading him here, not the other way around. This does not answer the question of how she found us, but who can say for sure?" he reached into the fridge for a large sandwich.

**_(AN: I would just like to make a point here: There are several episodes in which people other than the Shane gang come to the Hideout, examples of said people: That crazy explorer trying to find 'The Burning World', Twist, but for the purpose of my story he doesn't do the obvious thing and tell Blakk where it is, the thief girl Dana Por who stole the Shadow Clan artifact that let her vanish into shadows like they do. And I think there are others but I can't remember any right now.)_**

"He does make a good point," Kord admitted. "As far as we know no one else knows where we are, so how did she?"

"Let me look her up," Trixie suggested. "What was her name again Eli?" she asked

"Lyaru."

"Searching…Okay, I think I found her. Here: Lyaru Ramara, a local cavern 'vigilante' of sorts, fairly well-placed on some of the higher ranking boards in terms of slinging touraments. Not exactly champion material, but not a washout either. It says that Blakk tried to take over her home cavern, Diosia, when she was a kid, and she didn't exactly take kindly to that. Some people have apparently called her the 'The Black Devil' or 'The Shadow's Keeper' in connection to a legend from her home cavern."

"I wonder why they'd call her something creepy like Black Devil," Kord wondered aloud.

"Yes, and let us not forget, 'The Shaaaadoww Keeeeper'," Pronto added with his usual over-dramatic emphasis. "This mysterious girl had much to answer about herself"

"Yeah, seems like it. Though, when I asked things before, she was pretty willing to explain herself."

Trixie frowned, "Then why don't you just ask her?"

"Yes, Eli, why don't you just ask me?" came a voice from behind them. All four whirled around. Lyaru was leaning on the wall behind

"Um, excuse me! Ever hear of a doorbell!?" Pronto exclaimed indignantly.

"Ever consider getting one?" she retorted flatly.

"How did you get in here?" Eli asked.

"I walked through the door," she said plainly, giving him a shrug. "Someone left it open."

"Oops," Kord muttered. The others turned to look at him. "Well, one of Pronto's slugs stunk up the kitchen, so I opened the door to let it air out, and it looks like I forgot to close it…" he trailed off.

"So, Miss Ramara, who are you, and why did you save Eli?" Trixie demanded, suddenly feeling suspicious of the black haired girl.

"I suppose you want the whole story?" she asked. When Trixie nodded, she sighed and said, "Well, it's a long one so you all might want to sit down."

They all took a seat somewhere; the Shane gang in chairs and Lyaru on the floor with her back against the wall. Once everyone was settled she began her story, "It started twelve years ago….

"My family is closely tied to the Shanes. I was too little to understand anything that was going on at the time, but I remember, not to long after my fourth birthday, Dr. Blakk came to town. He had some large machine and was going to destroy all of our homes with us inside of them if we didn't get out fast enough. He didn't have ghouls at the time but he was still a dangerous man. I never did find out why he wanted our cavern so badly, but he did and he almost got away with it. Your father, Eli," she looked at him, "Will Shane, he saved us all. He was a great man, more than you can ever know. He saved out town and sent Blakk and all his men packing, then blasted the machine apart.

"Your father was always visiting my father. I'd tell you what they talked about, but it was as much a secret to me as it was to anybody else, so don't ask. But they were always talking and working on different things. This went on for years and years, until Blakk made your father vanish. I'll never forgive Blakk for what he did. So, I took it upon myself to help protect Slugterra where I could. I have traveled all over the place looking for ways to stop Blakk and collected slugs along the way. I have even met the Shadow Clan on a few occasions, though none of those lasted longer than I could hightail it out of there."

"Did you survive?" Pronto asked.

"What?"

"Did you survive your encounters with the Shadow Clan?" he asked again.

"Pronto, what do you think happened?" Trixie, who was quite irritated with him at this point, demanded.

"What? I'm just trying to get the story straight," Pronto grumbled.

"Pronto, if she didn't survive she wouldn't be here now," Kord pointed out.

"Oh. You are right; that was a stupid question," the molenoid said bashfully.

Lyaru crossed her legs, "Shadow Clan aside, anything else you want to know?"

"I have a question," Eli said. "Is your family still around?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, they are. I just don't communicate much with them because I'm trying to stay off of Blakk's radar, if you catch my drift. He has never actually seen me, to my knowledge, and I don't want him finding my family if he _does_ know who I am."

"That means I could ask your father about what he and my dad talked about!" Eli exclaimed, having hope of finding answers about his father again for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Definitely," she agreed with a grin.

"This is all too good to be true," Kord said suspiciously.

"How do you want me to prove I'm not lying?" Lyaru asked the cave troll. "I'll do whatever it is."

**_(AN: Alright I know there is a similarity between her name and the word 'lie' or 'lying' but that was not intentional and does not mean that she is lying to them, but she certainly has some secrets she is not sharing with them, hint hint!) _**

"Oh! Oh! Pronto knows!" the molenoid said jumping up and down excitedly.

"Well, out with it."

"Pronto believes that he may have an old molenoid lie detector somewhere in his things. If you will give me a moment I shall see if I can locate it," he said, flouncing up the stairs. Several crashes and a couple of banging sounds came from the direction of his room as he dug through things. He returned triumphantly a minute later, holding some strange metal object with lots of colorful lights on it. "Okay, so you just speak into this and it will tell us if you are lying or not," Pronto explained simply. "So, we will ask you questions and you will answer."

"We should test it first," Kord cautioned.

"Alright," Eli said. "My mecha is purple." The device whirred and lit up red, a sign that he was lying.

"Pronto is the most magnificent molenoid to ever walk the caverns of Slugterra!" Pronto declared proudly. Again the device lit up red. "But I was telling the truth!" he protested, only to be answered by yet another red flash form the detector.

Kord grinned, "I think we've determined that it works." It lit up green, as if agreeing with him.

"Alright, then, ask away," Lyaru said calmly.

"Are you working for Blakk or a spy for anyone else? Or do you plan on betraying us at any point?"

"No." The detector lit up green

"Are you going to hurt us and or attack us?" Eli asked.

"No, unless you give me a really good reason to defend myself." Again, green.

It was Pronto's turn, "Why do some call you 'The Shaaadow Keeeeeper'?"

"Because they think I'm part of some ancient story about the Keeper of Shadows and the Keeper of Light." Still green.

"Why did you free Eli?" Kord asked. He already knew what Eli had gotten as an answer before but he wanted to hear it for himself.

"Several reasons: One of those was that it was the right thing to do, another that I owe the Shane family for saving my cavern and family, so I figured this was the least I could do. I really just wanted to help stop Blakk." At each statement the detector lit up green. "So, anything else?"

"Nope," Trixie replied.

"I got nothing," Eli shrugged.

Kord nodded, "I'm good too."

"I will let you know if I think of anything else," Pronto said.

"Okay then, if it's alright with you; I'm going to leave. I have other things to do and I gotta go," she stood up.

"Wait!" exclaimed Pronto. "Pronto has one last question! How did you know where our Hideout was?"

"Oh, that? I used to come here all the time with my dad," she said with a wave of her hand. "Remember how Eli's father used to visit mine? Well, we used to come and visit him too. I have to go. If you want I can come by later."

"Guys?" Eli asked.

"Sure," Trixie nodded. Now that they had determined that Lyaru was not a traitor or a spy, she was more than happy about having another girl around.

"Why not," Kord was agreeable.

"Then I'll see you later," Lyaru said, and walked out of the Hideout.

**END OF CHAPTER 2**

**But certainly not the end of the story!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Busy Day

The Girl from the Unknown by The Lady of Dragons

Chapter 3: Busy day

Part 1- Beasts forged in fire

"Wait! Where are you going?" Eli called after Lyaru as she walked out to her mecha.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you. I work sometimes at the beast forge for Grendle" she said turning around to face the Shane

"Really?" asked Kord, suddenly interested, having followed them outside

"Yeah" she said with a smile

"What if someone asks about me?" Eli said suddenly "Lyaru told me that you guys had told people I was away on 'Shane business' Should we tell people I'm back?"

"He makes a good point" said Trixie

"Pronto says we should not tell anyone and use this to our advantage so we can surprise Doctor Blakk" the molenoid added his input

"Actually, he may be right" Lyaru said "I won't tell anyone about Eli, unless there's someone you want me to tell?" she asked tentatively

"If you're going to the beast forge, you could tell Grendle. After all, he figured out that you weren't on a trip Eli and we told him what we thought at the time: that you were dead" said Kord "Is that alright with you guys if we tell him?" he asked, turning to his teammates

"For sure, no reason that he should think I'm dead, he is our friend" said Eli and that was that. Lyaru headed off to the beast forge to meet Grendle.

She arrived less than twenty minutes later and was greeted welcomingly by Grendle "Lya, my friend! Good to see you!" the large cave troll said as she rode up on her mecha "I haven't seen you around in a while. How is your Astra-1 treating you these days?" he asked referring to the model of her white tiger mecha

"Hi Grendle" she said with a smile "Astral is just fine thanks for asking, and I've just been busy lately. Speaking of which, before you tell me what I can help with around the forge, I need to speak with you in private"

"Alright then, follow me. We can talk privately in my office" he said and walked into the building, she right behind him. When they arrived at his office he closed the shades and made sure that the door was secured. "What did you need to talk to me about?" he asked looking at the dark haired girl questioningly

"Do you remember when Eli was taken by Dr. Blakk and you and the Shane gang thought he was dead?"

He nodded, not questioning how she knew something like that. Somehow she always seemed to know.

"Well he's not" Lyaru said quietly.

"WHAT?!" Grendle bellowed. Had the room not been sound proof, everyone in the forge would have heard him.

She had anticipated his reaction and hissed "Keep it down!" at him

"He's alive? Does Blakk have him? Where?" he asked in a rush

"Yes he's alive, and Blakk _had _him in some far off cavern" she answered. Her slight emphasis on 'had' was not lost on the cave troll

"So he's free and alright?" Grendle asked still in shock

"Yes"

"And I assume you freed him" it was not a question

"He is back with his friends at their Hideout" she reassured him. A wide smile slowly crept across his face and the fire was back in his eyes. He had missed the little Shane boy "But we have to keep it a secret for now" Lyaru reminded him sternly

"Then how come you told me?" he asked

"Because they asked me to" was her simple answer

"It is good to know Eli is alright" the cave troll sighed

"Yes it is. Now why don't you show me what I can help with around here?" she said leading the huge cave troll out of his office. After several hours full of hard work fixing mecha beasts Lyaru had finished for the day and was about to head back to the Hideout when Grendle stopped her

"Leaving for today?"

"Yep"

"Is there any chance you would happen to see Kord today? Because I've got some new parts for him" Grendle said

"I don't mind bringing them to him at all Grendle" she replied to his unasked question. She took the package from him, hopped onto Astral and headed off to see the Shane gang.

Part 2 – Twisted connection

Lyaru was riding back to the Shane Hideout when she suddenly stopped and dismounted. One of her slugs, Volt, chattered worriedly from her shoulder, it sensed something as well.

"Hello Twist" she said calmly, her eyes closed

"Heh. Still as sharp as ever Lya" said Twist, appearing suddenly behind her

"What do you want" she asked coldly "I haven't heard from you in two years, why the sudden visit? Finally got sick of Blakk ordering you around?" her tone shifted to one that was slightly mocking

"No" he sneered "I just wanted to say hi"

"You and I both know that you never just drop by to say hi" she told him, her eyes still closed

"Come on, can't I just come to tell my girl hello once in a while" he said with a dark chuckle

"We've been over this Twist: I don't like you and I never will!" she said, sighing exasperatedly

"So you say Lya, but I still like teasing you" he laughed. His statement was met with an angry growl from Lyaru, and she lashed out with her left foot, but instead of striking out behind her, she swept her foot up and around slashing at the air to her right.

"Ooof!" she caught the real Twist right in the stomach with her booted foot, his illusion double behind her vanished and he became visible as he clutched at his gut. "Definitely as sharp as ever" he wheezed

"Now Spill, and preferably not your guts" she said looking at him disgustedly

"I meant what I said before. I just wanted to see you and say hi. I just wanted to make sure you were ok" he muttered, still trying to get his breath back. She kicked hard.

"Then I'm out of here" she said mounting Astral and riding away

Twist watched her go "One of these days, Lya my dear, one of these days…" he chuckled, and then went off to wherever he had come from

Part 3 – Shane gang on patrol, maybe….

Lyaru returned to the Hideout and walked up to the still-open door 'They really should close that' she thought to herself. Sharking off the memory of her recent encounter with Twist she walked through the door _**(AN: The reason I have the door open is 1 – I think it would be awkward for her to have to open the door herself, and 2 – it added dramatic effect in the first scene where she showed up at the hideout) **_

"Welcome back" Trixie said when she saw the other girl enter, being the only one on the main floor of the base

"Hello Trixie" Lyaru said with a smile, "Where are the others? I have a package for Kord that Grendle sent with me-" at the mention of his name and the words 'package' and 'Grendle' Kord came pelting in to the main room so fast it looked like he had been shoot out of a blaster at velocity

"Did you say package?" he asked, skidding to a halt and rubbing his hands together excitedly

"Um, yes I did" Lyaru said giving the tall cave troll a strange look "Here" she handed him Grendle's package "Grendle asked me to take it to you on my way out of the forge. How did you manage to hear that from wherever you were anyway?"

"Oh we cave trolls have excellent hearing…sometimes" he said with a grin

"Aha…" Lyaru said uncertainly

"That aside" said Trixie "You can come in if you want to. You don't have to stand in the doorway" she said leading Lyaru to the kitchen and telling her to sit down

"Thanks" Lyaru replied, her legs had been getting sore after standing all day in the forge "So where are Eli and Pronto?" she asked again

"Eli is asleep, and I think Pronto is too" Kord said sitting in the chair to Lyaru's right. Trixie followed and sat next to him.

Uneasy silence filled several minutes while the three of them just sat trying not to look at each other, and succeeding for the most part. Kord and Trixie were unsure of what to do, they knew that she wasn't a traitor or a liar and she seemed nice enough, but it had been so long since they had had company. Lyaru was not sure what she was supposed to do, she had been alone with her slugs traveling from place to place to fight Blakk for so long and it wasn't like she was invited over to people's houses often or ever for that matter. Was she supposed to say something or would that be too pushy? Should she ask how 'things' were going or would that be strange?

"So…." Kord started "What kind of slugs do you have?"

"Lots. Would you like to see them?"

"Sure"

"Ok" Lyaru stood and pulled off her bandolier revealing a large number of sleepy slugs in the little semi-transparent tubes _**(AN: Are they called tubes? Or maybe capsules? If anyone knows what they're actually called please let me know and I will correct myself) **_"Come on out" she told the little creatures. They climbed out and scooted across the table. "This is Volt (Tazerling), Ricochet (Speed Stinger) Medic (Boon Doc) Webs (Arachenet) Crossfire (Flaringo) Razor (Thresher) Sticky (Jellyish) Smash (Armashelt) Icicle (Frost Crawler) and the rest are at home"

"Cool" Kord replied

"Hang on you missed one" Trixie noticed that one of the tubes still had a dark shape in it

"So I did" Lyaru agreed. She tapped the tube lightly trying to catch the attention of the slug inside "Wake up Dracon"

"Dracon? What kind of slug is that?" Kord asked puzzled

"Not a type of slug, that's his name. He's a Draco slug"

"A Draco slug? Never head of that kind before" Trixie said

"Most haven't" Lyaru said, gently pulling capsule off its clip "I think he's the last one. Maybe, though I'm not sure. My bet is that he's just the only one left in the inhabited caverns and that the rest of the Draco slugs are deep underground somewhere" she tapped the tube/capsule again and a little slug popped out of the capsule. _**(AN: Ok now that I've written it out a few times I'm pretty sure that they are capsules, though if you know they're called something else or have suggestions for what I should call them in the future please don't hesitate to tell me)**_ He was bright red, with pale blue and green horns and spines. He had small midnight blue wings and spiked patters of the same color on his tiny stomach _**(AN: Ok does anyone else think that 'tiny stomach' sounds hilarious and kind of adorable?) **_along with a white stripe that seemed to go under the spikes. His eyes were an iridescent light blue and he had a tail.

"Wow!" Trixie exclaimed "He doesn't look like any slug I've seen before. Where did you find him?" she asked looking at the suddenly silent Lyaru

Lyaru gave a sigh "To be honest with you I don't know where he came from. Eli's dad found him on one of his patrol trips and brought him to my dad. He was kinda sick and messed up. We never found out why"

"That's amazing!" Kord said

"What's amazing?" asked a sleepy voice from the stairs. They all turned around to find Eli walking down the stairs.

"Oh sorry Eli, we didn't realize you were up. Otherwise I would have told you Lyaru was back" Trixie said as he sat down at the table.

"Its fine, I just got up anyway. So what's so amazing anyway?" he asked, Burpy on his shoulder.

"Look at Lyaru's slug" Kord said, peering more closely at the miniature dragon on the table in front of him. Dracon turned obligingly to let the cave troll get a closer look and even allowed himself to be picked up, much to Lyaru's surprise.

"He almost never lets anyone else touch him" she told them

"I guess we must be special then" Eli said

"You certainly are" Lyaru agreed, shaking her head thoughtfully.

"Hmm? What did you say?" he asked to busy staring at Dracon to pay attention to what she had said.

"Oh nothing" she dismissed

"Don't mind him" Trixie said kindly "He just loves slugs"

"So I gathered" she told Trixie with a friendly wink. Suddenly Kord's stomach rumbled loudly. They all laughed and Trixie stood

"It is about dinner time isn't it?" she declared

"Yeah I could go for some food" Eli said

"I should go" Lyaru said, making as if to leave

"You can stay if you want" Trixie said

"Yeah I've got no complaints" Kord agreed. Eli just nodded

"Alright then, would you like a hand Trixie?" Lyaru offered

"I'd appreciate it, thanks"

Kord and Eli talked about slugs while they helped with dinner while the girls just rolled their eyes.

"And people say girls are the talkative ones" Trixie whispered to Lyaru, causing the other girl to giggle.

"They don't know Eli and Kord then do they" she replied. At some point Pronto joined them, awakened by the scent of food. They all ate and shared stories for a bit, and when it got late and people started dozing off Lyaru left without anyone realizing, since they had all fallen asleep.

"Time to go Dracon" she whispered softly, calling to her slug. He shrugged and flapped up to her shoulder, the other slugs following his lead and climbing into their capsules. Burpy was still awake and waved to them from Eli's shoulder as they left. Dracon waved back, the two had become fast friends and had spent a good amount of time jumping from perch to perch on the slug home in the hideout. She walked outside and closed the door, then she mounted Astral and rode away.

Several hours later back at the Hideout, Eli woke up from a very strange dream, he looked around and not seeing Lyaru stood up to see if she was still there. Nope, she was gone. 'Dang it' he thought 'Why does she always have to disappear like that?! Seriously I just want a chance to talk with her alone when I'm not half comatose' he lightly smacked his forehead in frustration. Then he decided to go back to sleep but in his actual bed, he had an awful crick in his neck from sleeping in a chair. He would have woken the others for the same reason but they looked comfortable so he let them be and went upstairs. He sat in a chair by his window and looked out across the darkened landscape. He squinted seeing something in the distance, he looked harder and saw a small object flying slowly towards him and was shocked to see a Hoverbug slug soar up to his window. There was a message tied around its leg, he untied it and the slug popped back into miniature form. The message read as follows:

_I'll drop by later. See you tomorrow_

_-Lyaru_

_P.S. Just sling Glider, he knows where to find me and can get back on his own. _

He read the short message a few times, then stood and grabbing his blaster and the Hoverbug, who he assumed was Glider, went to the window and fired the slug out of it. He laid back on his bed and contemplated the last few days. 'Well tomorrow is sure to be interesting, that's for sure' he thought before drifting off to sleep.

**End of Chapter 3 - Busy day**

**I would just like to apologize for taking so long to update this, I was not having writer's block, I just got inspired for some chapters for another story and had to write them down before I forgot about them. And I would like to thank the many people who have read and those that have reviewed my story for all the positive feedback I've been getting! I really appreciate all the support! Keep on reviewing and I'll keep on writing, deal?**


	4. Chapter 4 - Nightmares

The Girl from the Unknown by The Lady of Dragons

Chapter 4: Nightmares, Visions, and Day Dreams Oh my!

Part 1 – Nightmares

Eli was peacefully asleep in room when the calm nothingness of his subconscious started to become twisted. One moment he was blissfully unaware of anything and the next he was thrown into a strange and unfamiliar place. To describe the nightmare in more detail would go something like this: a freaked out slideshow of mashed up people and places Eli knew but didn't know at the same time. It was as if someone had taken his memories, torn them into bits and shoved them all back together. He saw a picture his father from years ago, the laughing face of Dr. Blakk as the picture burned to ashes. He saw his friends in a prison cell, forced to watch their slugs being ghouled. He saw a girl with short red hair and bright purple eyes. A boy stood beside her who looked like he could be her twin brother. The girl looked at him and spoke in a hissing, whispering voice:

"_Shane. You have no idea what Fate and I have in store for you. Your path will cross with that of two others, but when the dust clears only two of you with stand to walk away."_ she let lose a menacing laugh and then faded away with the boy.

After another flash of incomprehensible pieces he saw who he thought was Lyaru but she looked different. She was wearing a grey jacket with the hood pulled up over her head covering part of her face, and her hair was untied. Her blaster and slugs were gone and she seemed to be running from something or someone. A look of determination gleamed in her eyes but it turned to fear and sheer terror a second later. She ran faster and suddenly Blakk grabbed her by the wrist and threw her in a prison cell in his citadel that had appeared out of nowhere as things often do in dreams and nightmares. She screamed and clutched at her throat like someone was choking her. The scene vanished and was replaced by a bird's eye view of Slugterra. And all of it was burning, the strange dark flames devouring everything in their path. He could hear the cries of the slugs and people below. He tried to yell but his mouth refused to make a sound.

_Thud. _Eli woke with a start and found himself on the floor of his room. His back hurt from where he had landed on it and he was drenched in sweat. Burpy hopped over to him and chirped worriedly.

"It's ok Burpy" Eli assured his slug, though he was not really sure of that himself "It was only a nightmare" he sat up and climbed back into bed. It was about 6am. He groaned and accepted the fact that he was not getting anymore sleep. Instead he decided to ponder what his dream had meant. The burning picture part wasn't complicated, neither was the bit with his friends, he blamed Blakk for his father's disappearance and was afraid his friends would end up prisoners or hurt. It was the part with the unknown boy and girl that worried him as well as what the girl had said. It sounded like a prophecy of sorts but what did that mean "you have no idea what fate and I have in store for you"? What about "your path will cross with that of two others" or "when the dust clears only two of you will stand"? And let's not forget that troubling scene with Lyaru. _'I've known her for two days and already I'm having nightmares about her being captured and hurt. I guess I must really care about her' _he thought to himself _'But I just met her, this is ridiculous. I'm probably just tired and that's making me have weird dreams. I've noticed that I have strange dreams when I'm tired'_ he nodded to himself and went downstairs, pausing only to let Burpy climb on his shoulder.

Part 2 – Visions

In the main room the others, except for pronto, were up and about. Kord was eating cereal in the kitchen and Trixie was scanning the news website at her computer, Pronto just snored louder.

"Morning Eli" Trixie called without looking away from her computer

"Morning" he replied, heading to the kitchen to get some cereal.

"You know Eli, I was thinking" Kord said

"What about?" Eli prompted

"You can't stay cooped up here forever, and if I know you, you wouldn't even if you could" Kord told him "So what if we get you a disguise so you can come out with us?"

"That's actually a good idea" Trixie said, sitting next to them "Though you wouldn't be able to use Burpy, unless we go some of that slug paint slingers use to customize their slugs and pained him like a Flaringo, then nobody would get suspicious, so long as you don't shout his name all over the place"

"Alright then! I'm up for a new look. Let's do it" Eli declared "After I finish breakfast that is" they finished eating and had started going through some options for Eli's disguise when Lyaru showed up.

She knocked on the door and called "Ding-dong!" when Pronto opened the door she asked "Is that better?"

"Much appreciated" he nodded and stepped aside, letting her in. She took three steps in, stopped dead in her tracks and tried really hard not to laugh. Eli was wearing a mustache and a sombrero along with a poncho that, overall, made him look ridiculous.

"Eli, what the heck are you wearing?" she asked, stifling a snicker

"It's a disguise so that I can go out on public" he explained

"I'm no fashion expert but I'd say you still wouldn't want to go out in public looking like that" she replied. She finally lost control and burst out laughing. The others started laughing too.

"Hey! You told me it didn't look stupid!" Eli whirled and glared at Trixie and Kord.

"Stupid is an understatement" Pronto said "Pronto would say you look like a fool on his way to the idiot convention"

"I'm with him, Eli" Lyaru agreed. Eli crossed his arms and stared moodily at Kord and Trixie again. _'Great, thanks guys'_ he thought _'Now I look like an idiot in front of her. Wait, why do I care what she thinks anyway? Whatever, this is still embarrassing, regardless of whether she's here to see it' _Eli pulled off his disguise and flopped down on the chair behind him. Lyaru stopped laughing and gave him a thoughtful look that made him rather uncomfortable.

"Here I've got an idea" she started toward the pile of stuff they had been going through then paused "May I?"

"Of course" Trixie indicated the pile "Go right ahead" Lyaru nodded and began to riffle through the articles. Every few items she would take one and throw it towards Eli, who caught them and began to make a new pile.

"Go try that on" Lyaru told him confidently

"Ok" Eli shrugged and picked up the pile. He walked out of the room.

"So what's your idea?" Kord asked

"The best place to hide is in plain sight, so if he's going to be out and about with you then he has to look the opposite of who he is, right?"

"Right" Trixie agreed

"And since he's hero boy, make him the opposite, more simply; dark, quiet, totally out of character"

"Ah! Now I get it" Kord nodded "Not a bad idea at all"

"Thanks" Lyaru said "Now what are you going to do about his slugs?"

"Well we're thinking slug paint for them, and so long as Eli doesn't shout their names all the time no one should notice" Kord replied

"Another good idea" Lyaru told him

"So guys, how do I look?" Eli asked walking back in

"Like you're not you" Kord said

"Actually you look like you could be Lyaru's twin" Trixie remarked

"Whoa, you're right. That's creepy" Lyaru agreed

"Is that a bad thing?" Eli asked, feeling rather awkward

"Actually" Trixie said thoughtfully "We could use that to our advantage" both Eli and Lyaru looked at her "Say we go out on a mission, bring Lyaru with us, provided you want to come, and Eli comes with us, looking like he does now. They look similar enough that if anyone asks we tell them that you two are siblings"

Eli thought for a moment "That is just crazy enough to work, assuming you're alright with that?" he asked Lyaru

"I don't know. I'll have to think about it. If I go out there Blakk may discover I'm the one who's been harassing him, and if he finds out who I am then he'll go after my family. I can't risk anything happening to my parents or my little brother"

"You have a little brother?" Kord asked

"Yeah I didn't mention it before because it wasn't important. His name is Sam and he's seven"

"If Blakk has never seen you then he wouldn't know you're the one who's been sabotaging him" Trixie said

"Like I said, I don't think he's ever seen me, but for all I know he could know everything about me"

"You think about it" Eli said kindly. He didn't want to force anyone into anything they didn't want to do.

"Thanks, though I can help you with another aspect of your disguise"

"And what would that be?" Trixie asked

"The slug paint" Lyaru replied "I have a friend who's an artist. She customizes slugs, mechabeasts, and blasters for a living and owes me a few favors. She'd paint your slugs no questions asked if I decide to cash in one of those favors"

"Sounds good to me" Eli said "What do you guys think?" he looked down at his slugs. They chirped and made little noises of agreement

"There's only one thing, you can't come Eli" Lyaru told him

"I guess one of the others will have to go with you" he said. Lyaru nodded and glanced expectantly at the others.

"I'll go" Trixie volunteered

"Sure. We can head out whenever you like. It's a bit of a ride though, so you may want to get ready" Lyaru suggested

"I can be ready in ten minutes" Trixie replied

"Sounds good to me" Lyaru nodded and Trixie left to gather her things "What are you going to do about your mecha, Eli?"

Kord rubbed his chin thought fully "I've got an idea about that but it's going to take some time"

"That sounds interesting" Eli said "Can I give you a hand with it?"

"I don't see why not" Kord shrugged

"Perfect. It'll give me something to do"

Trixie returned a few minutes later and Eli coaxed his slugs into his backpack. He handed it to Lyaru who took it gently. Burpy popped out of the top and looked at Eli mournfully.

"Hey don't worry buddy, it's only for a little bit" Eli assured him

"Yes and I promise to take good care of you" Lyaru said. Dracon hopped onto her shoulder and said something to Burpy, which evidently make the little Infernus feel better, for he grinned and ducked back into the backpack.

"If only we could speak slug" Kord said, shaking his head slowly

"Then all the problems in the world would no doubt be solved" Lyaru agreed sadly. She walked towards the door and Trixie followed. They rode away and into the jungle. When they reached the end of the cavern they went through a tunnel and immerged into the nearby town. They raced through several more towns and caverns and even skirted the edge of Shadow Clan territory, which made Trixie rather nervous. Lyaru just looked even more grim than usual and just stared blankly at the road ahead of her. They had been riding for about an hour and a half and Trixie was about to ask where exactly they were going when Lyaru stopped.

Part 3 – Daydreams

"We're here" she announced solemnly and rode forward at a slower pace. Trixie looked around. They were in one of the renowned craft centers scattered throughout the caverns of Slugterra. These villages were where people gifted in any form of art or construction usually went to either learn or set up shop. You could find anyone from a custom parts dealer for mechas to someone who made jewelry for slugs. This was the place to go if you wanted to make a living doing art.

"My friend's shop is just around the corner. She likes privacy so you don't have to worry about eavesdroppers or spies"

"Good to know"

"This way" they rounded a corner and came to a halt in front of a neat, well kept shop. Lyaru pushed open the door, causing the little bell to jingle. Despite the noise no one answered. Lyaru frowned in irritation and walked over to the counter. She banged loudly on the counter with her fist and called "Oi! Zeck! Get out here! I've got a job for you!" _**(AN: I don't mean Zeke, I mean Zeck, it's not a typo) **_

"My my, it's been a long time since I've had heard that voice. I thought you and your family had all forgotten about me, Lya dear" a soft voice purred. A blonde woman of middling height strode through a door behind the counter. Her eyes were a mottled brow color and her clothes bronze-yellow clothes were covered with small designs in various colors of paint. Her brown work boots looked worn and were covered with scuff marks.

"Hardly forgotten. We just haven't had the time to come and visit you of late. If you hadn't noticed Blakk is trying to take over the caverns and enslave us all"

"Of course I noticed" the woman, Zeck, snapped "Question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"Me?"

"No I was talking to the other Lyaru in the room" Trixie snickered and Zeck looked at her, as if she was noticing the redhead for the first time "And may I ask why you have a member of the Shane gang with you?" to Trixie she said more politely "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"Um thanks" Trixie said, slightly confused by the sudden change in attitude.

Lyaru had decided they had wasted enough time with pleasantries "Listen Zeck, I haven't got a clue what you mean by 'what am I going to do about it' but I came here because I need you to do what you do best, and I don't mean mock people with overcomplicated words"

"So you've got some slugs you want me to paint?"

"Bingo. There's a lot of em' you up for it? Remember you owe me"

"Yeah I'll do it. I've been bored out of my mind so something to do is welcome. Let me see them"

"Here" Lyaru handed her Eli's backpack

"Wow" Zeck whistled "You got any specifications?"

"A few" Lyaru listed out some specific descriptions for Eli's slugs and Zeck wrote them down.

She nodded once and disappeared into the back room calling over her shoulder "This is gonna take a while, I hope you brought something to do. Make yourselves at home in the front room"

Lyaru sat down on a chair and pulled a book of crossword puzzles out of her bag. Trixie sat down across from her on the couch.

"So what were the specifications for?" Trixie asked

"Two things: one, if I had just told her to have at it she'd have turned them all rainbow and if you have a bunch of rainbow slugs for a serious slinger like Eli it's going to look like something's up, and two, they have to be darker, more somber colored if you want them to fit in with his disguise"

"Good thinking, I hadn't even thought of that"

"Thanks. Here" she tossed another crossword book to Trixie "I always bring an extra" A couple of hours later they had almost finished both crossword books when Zeck finally came out of her workroom, holding the backpack full of the newly Goth-ified slugs.

"Here you go" she handed the backpack to Lyaru and crossed her arms "If you ever want to let me have a go at your little Draco slug just give the word"

"You are not going to paint Dracon rainbow" Lyaru said flatly

"Fine, fine, just go on then and leave me in peace"

"Sure thing" Lyaru shouldered the backpack and followed Trixie back to the mechas.

"You sure have some interesting friends Lyaru" Trixie remarked on the ride back

"Yeah. When you've been to as many places as I have you tend to pick up a few odd ones now and then"

"How many places have you been to?"

"I'm not really sure. Slugs, people, names, and places all seem to blur together after a time" Lyaru replied mournfully, looking at the roof of the cavern far above them "I couldn't tell you where I've been, who I've met, and what I've seen. It's all just a bit of a tangle, but I know where I haven't been and I'd remember if I've been somewhere before"

"Oh, I see" Trixie said, even though she didn't "We should be back at the hideout soon" she added, trying to change subjects.

"Yes. I wonder what they came up with for his mecha while we were gone"

"Whatever it is I hope it doesn't blow up in our faces"

"That would be…unfortunate" Lyaru agreed

"Well let's hurry up before it does explode. And knowing them if it does, Pronto will be responsible, just like last time"

"Last time?"

"Don't ask"

"Ok then, let's just go"

** End of Chapter 4**

**Ok so I really do apologize for taking so long to update but I was working on chapters for my other story and some drawings, not to mention the fact that I had no idea how this chapter was going to go at first. I would like to thank all the people who have given me positive review and/or asked for new chapters to be posted. Don't get me wrong, I truly intend to continue this until it's done and I'm not just going to leave it half finished for a year and then start updating. I would love to post chapters as fast as I can, however my imagination and creativity are in a bit of a slump and there's not much I can do about it right now. I'm going to re-watch some of the episodes and hope that that jumpstarts my creative juices. Stay tuned for more mystery, subterfuge, misdirection, and a whole lot of Twist getting kicked in the stomach! Sorry Twist fans, he's a lying backstabber and I don't like him. Thank you once again, the fact that this story gets so many view and reviews is what keeps me writing it. I do also appreciate any guesses as to what may happen in later chapters and any other suggestions, they are very helpful and maybe your idea would even get used in a chapter. **

**May the stars watch over you. **

** -Lady of Dragons out! Peace! **


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